Journey to the West: The roadblock!

Chapter 2, The Burning Down of the Zen Temple (Part 1)
After leaving Mount Ling, Ao Tu followed the route of the pilgrimage and arrived at the Guanyin Temple area.

Below, two figures, one human and one monkey, came into view; they were none other than Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong.

At this time, the system sound sounded.

[Entering the Great Tribulation of Journey to the West]

Main Quest: The Obstacles on the Journey to the West (Unlocked)

[Content: To obstruct the pilgrims' journey to the West and prevent the flourishing of Buddhism.]

[Current Side Quest: Trouble Occurs at Guanyin Temple]

[Task Requirements: Block the pilgrims from reaching the Guanyin Temple area. Rewards will be calculated based on the time taken to block them.]

[Task Rewards: 3 days/Mountain Moving Technique, 7 days/Six-Turn Golden Elixir, half a month/True Dragon Pearl, one month/Acquired Spiritual Treasure: Five-Fire Divine Flame Fan, one season/Divine Power: Five-Colored Divine Light, half a year/Ancestral Dragon Essence Blood, one year/Innate Spiritual Treasure: Soul Scattering Gourd, three years/Innate Spiritual Treasure: River Map and Luo Book, twelve years/Chaos Bell, sixty years...]

Current progress: Day 0

[Note: If the time spent blocking the quest is insufficient to obtain the next stage reward, the extra days will be counted towards the next side quest.]

Ao Tu's face lit up with surprise; he hadn't expected the system's rewards to be so generous!
Leaving aside the various treasures that follow, let's just talk about the more easily obtainable rewards in the beginning; each one is extraordinary.

The art of moving mountains is very practical.

The Six-Turn Golden Elixir can greatly enhance one's cultivation level.

The True Dragon Pearl is an extremely valuable treasure for the dragon race.

In the dragon race, those who can be called true dragons must at least have the cultivation level of a Golden Immortal; and the Dragon Pearl is the essence of a dragon's cultivation.

If Ao Tu can obtain this True Dragon Pearl, not only will his combat power be greatly enhanced, but he will also be able to quickly advance to the Golden Immortal realm, at which point he will also have a certain ability to protect himself.

The Five Flames Divine Fan that followed was even more powerful.

This treasure, also known as the Five Fires and Seven Birds Fan, is composed of the feathers of seven birds: the phoenix, the blue luan, the roc, the peacock, the white crane, the swan, and the owl, as well as five fires: fire in the air, fire in stone, fire in wood, samadhi fire, and fire in the human world.

Although it is an acquired spiritual treasure, its power is no weaker than some innate spiritual treasures. During the Investiture of the Gods, countless disciples of the Jie Sect were burned to death. Even with Sun Wukong's indestructible body, he could not withstand the power of this divine fan!
The only drawback is that obtaining this treasure would require stopping Tang Sanzang and his disciples for a month, which is still somewhat difficult for Ao Tu with his current cultivation level, and he probably won't be able to do it in a short time.

However, while obtaining the Five Flame Fan is quite difficult, acquiring the True Dragon Ball is much simpler.

It shouldn't be difficult to stop Tang Sanzang and his disciples from staying in the Guanyin Temple area for half a month with careful planning.

Dragons can be large or small, can rise or hide. Ao Tu hid in the clouds, observing the situation below and pondering a solution.

Here, Tang Sanzang and his disciples entered Guanyin Temple, hoping to stay the night. Abbot Jinchi of Guanyin Temple saw that Tang Sanzang was extraordinary and struck up a conversation with him, asking about the treasures of the East. Tang Sanzang said that the journey was too long and he had not brought any treasures with him.

Sun Wukong couldn't stand Elder Jinchi's boasting, so he took out Tang Sanzang's brocade cassock and showed it off to Elder Jinchi.

Upon seeing the brocade cassock, Elder Jinchi immediately fell in love with it and became greedy. He tearfully begged Tang Sanzang to let him look at the cassock for one night. Tang Sanzang could not refuse and could only hand the cassock over to Elder Jinchi to look at, repeatedly instructing him to return the cassock the next day.

That night, Elder Jinchi wept bitterly while holding the kasaya, unwilling to return it, wanting to keep it as a family heirloom.

Elder Jinchi had two grand-disciples, one named Guangzhi and the other Guangmou. The two were very much loved by Elder Jinchi. When they heard the crying, they came to give Elder Jinchi advice.

One said, "Call a few men, take knives, and kill Tang Sanzang."

Another person said that the hairy-faced monk looked troublesome, and it was not advisable to attack him directly. Instead, they suggested setting fire to the place and burning the monk and his horse to death.

Elder Jinchi was overjoyed upon hearing this and immediately gathered the monks to gather firewood and set the fire. Tang Sanzang was already asleep and completely unaware of what was happening outside.

Although Sun Wukong had fallen asleep, he was merely practicing his inner energy and cultivating his spirit. Upon hearing the commotion outside and realizing that these monks intended to harm him, he immediately wanted to take out his golden cudgel to strike them. However, after thinking it over, he feared that Tang Sanzang might chant a spell. So, he somersaulted to the South Heavenly Gate, found the Heavenly King Guangmu, and borrowed his fire-avoiding cover to shield Tang Sanzang.

Sun Wukong stood on the eaves, made hand gestures and chanted incantations. A gust of wind swept away the flames, turning them around. The wind fueled the fire, and the fire, fueled by the wind, instantly turned the entire Guanyin Temple ablaze with red flames.

Ao Tu hid in the clouds, observing the fire below.

Suddenly, a black wind blew from the nearby mountains and quietly swept away the robe while the fire raged.

Ao Tu guessed that this must be the black bear spirit.

This demon was quite capable; without any magical weapons, he fought the monkey several times with sheer brute strength and was not defeated. Later, Guanyin also took a liking to the black bear's abilities and subdued it with the headband given to her by Buddha, making it the guardian deity of the mountain.

Could we join forces with this black bear spirit?

Ao Tu thought for a moment and then shook his head.

Although the Black Bear Spirit was powerful, he was no match for Guanyin Bodhisattva.

In the original story, after the Black Bear Demon stole the cassock, Sun Wukong invited Guanyin Bodhisattva to subdue him a few days later. Even if he and the Black Bear Demon joined forces, the two of them could not hold out for long.

His strength is currently weak, and if he wants to stop Tang Sanzang and his disciples from their journey to the West, he cannot attack them by force; he can only outsmart them.

As Ao Tu pondered, he suddenly saw the burning Guanyin Temple below and the many crying monks, and an idea came to him.

This time, he doesn't need to fight Sun Wukong. He only needs to use a scheme in secret to block Tang Sanzang and his disciples' journey to the West, and he can delay them for at least half a month.

However, for his plan to be fully implemented, it would have to wait until Sun Wukong had dealt with the Black Bear Demon before it could be used to its fullest potential; otherwise, it might be hampered.

The next day, when Tang Sanzang got up and opened the door, there were no more pavilions or palaces, only burnt ruins.

Sun Wukong then told Tang Sanzang about what had happened the day before.

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanzang immediately scolded Sun Wukong for his rambling and worried that the cassock would also be burned, so he ordered Sun Wukong to quickly find the cassock.

Sun Wukong then went to find Elder Jinchi.

The abbot, Jinchi, was filled with remorse after losing his robe and burning down the monastery. He slammed his head against the wall and died on the spot.

Elder Jinchi died, and Sun Wukong dug three feet into the ground but couldn't find the cassock. He summoned all the monks of the monastery and searched them one by one, but still couldn't find the cassock.

When Tang Sanzang discovered that his cassock was missing, he secretly resented Sun Wukong and recited the Tightening-Headband Mantra.

Sun Wukong collapsed to the ground, clutching his head in unbearable pain, crying out repeatedly, "Master, don't chant! Master, don't chant! I will definitely find the cassock!"

Upon seeing this, the monks, fearing they would be implicated, knelt down and begged for mercy, which finally stopped Tang Sanzang from chanting the incantation.

Sun Wukong interrogated them again, and the monks recounted the whole story in great detail.

Sun Wukong then asked if there were any monsters nearby.

The monks confessed that there was a Black Wind King twenty miles away.

Sun Wukong then guessed that the cassock had been stolen by the Black Wind King, so he quickly rode his somersault cloud to Black Wind Mountain.

(End of this chapter)